Healthy Artists Workshops

Joining other artists with shared interests and concerns is often a constructive and supportive way to work. As part of the Healthy Artists program, Dr. Colvin’s workshops are specifically designed to support the well being of creative and performing artists, and are linked to the framework for integrating mind-body wellness and artistic practices.

Upcoming Healthy Artists Workshops

The Psychology of Creativity

Since making art is a manifestation of the psyche, The Psychology of Creativity workshop explores how artists do their work to successfully access and nurture their personal creative process. As artistic expression is the central source of meaning making for artists, we consider the mysterious confluence and complexity of preparation, imagination, receptivity and innovation that enables the creative endeavor.

October 5, 2019 and February 1, 2020 – 2:00-5:00 PM

Moods and the Creative Process

Research and clinical studies have affirmed that highly creative individuals experience mood disruptions more often than do others. Most artists will acknowledge a strong relationship between their fluctuating moods and creative productivity, and the necessity to modify the impact of moods during periods of creative work. For the Moods and the Creative Process workshop we will focus on these feelings and the sometimes fragile balance between living life and making art, and come to more fully understand what this means for the artist. Useful strategies that will help manage moods to enhance the creative process will be explored.

November 2, 2019 and March 7, 2020 – 2:00-5:00PM

Portrait of the Artist

Since creativity is the source of meaning for artists, the Portrait of the Artist workshop will explore how creative work promotes wholeness by connecting inner ideas to manifest as outer objects of artistic expression. Opposite traits integrate with each other in the artistic personality – such as balancing imagination and reality, introversion and extroversion, playfulness and discipline. We will examine the essential qualities of the artist’s personality and how they influence creative productivity.

December 7, 2019 and April 4, 2020 – 2:00-5:00PM

Transformative Effects of Wellness Therapies

During this workshop the confluence of Eastern and Western philosophy, science, medicine and alternative healing strategies will be explored as they apply to developing a healthy lifestyle, integrating the mind, body and spirit of the artist. In the Transformative Effects of Wellness Therapies workshop we will evaluate such practices as nutrition, yoga, meditation, and expressive arts therapies among others, in our search for strategies that truly benefit and support artistic development.

January 4, 2020 and May 9, 2020 – 2:00-5:00PM

Art Can Heal Your Life

We marvel at how extremely gifted people create art that touches our lives and bestows so much beauty on our world. Yet, we all can unravel these mysteries by tapping into our potential for art making, while using art itself as the “medicine” that heals. The Art Can heal Your Life workshop also explores creative wellness strategies that maintain the healthy artist, considering neuroplasticity and “rewiring the brain” with focused training to find long-standing changes; finding “flow states” to “live inside your art”; and Mindfulness practices as a scaffolding to support optimal creative expression. With art as a healing tool, we can find a balance for living a successful and artful life infused with beauty, contentment and happiness.

February 8, 2020 and June 6, 2020 – 2:00-5:00PM

The Calming Clinic: Successful Performances & Auditions in Spite of the Nerves

This workshop explores “creative wellness” practices since robust psychological tools help the artist cope with the many stressors of auditions and performances. The Calming Clinic workshop offers strategies for maintaining a healthy body, managing anxiety, understanding the neurobiology of the sensitive, artistic person, and using wellness practices to prepare for optimal creative expression.

Saturdays October 5 & November 2, 2019; February 1, April 4, and June 6, 2020, All Workshops from 10:00AM – 12:00PM

The Healthy Artists Workshops meet at the offices of Pacifica Psychological Services in Newport Beach, CA, and Dr. Colvin will lead the groups. Space is limited to a small group of 10 for each workshop. Please call our offices for more information and to register for the workshops.

Recent Healthy Artists Workshops

Art Can Heal Your Life

We marvel at how extremely gifted people create art that touches our lives and bestows so much beauty on our world. Yet we can all unravel these mysteries by tapping into our potential to use art making as a healing tool to enrich our lives through “extraordinary ordinary creativity”.

Our Art Can Heal Your Life workshop will also explore creative wellness strategies to maintain a healthy body; manage anxiety and negative moods; understand the neurobiology of the highly sensitive person; embrace the concept of neuroplasticity which can “rewire the brain” and with specific training find long-lasting changes; and lastly reconsider Mindfulness practices as scaffolding to support optimal creative expression. Everyone will learn how to apply art-making ideas to develop “extraordinary ordinary creativity” and find a useful balance for living an artful life infused with beauty, contentment and happiness. A workbook will be provided for everyone attending the afternoon workshop.

Dancer’s Health Day includes individual preventative health screening assessments and workshops focusing on nutrition and healthy practices, designed specifically for professional dancers, offered by Dance Resource Center in partnership with Dance/USA’s Task Force on Dancer Health.

Mindfulness and Wellness Practices: Healthy Approaches in the Training of Performing Artists

New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, July 2016Sponsored by the Performing Arts Medicine International Symposium The task of making great art requires the integration and development of both the mind and the body working together, and it is through the assimilation of these two that artists can truly realize wellness and their potential as performers. Performing artists can significantly benefit from mindfulness and wellness-based practices to help train their minds, automate body movement, and deepen connections with their repertoire. Understanding the components of mindfulness and wellness practices and how they work together to alleviate stress, will allow performers to creatively adapt these strategies to meet their specific needs and promote peak performances.

“Carol Rosenberger, together with Dr. Kathline Colvin at the Creativity & Madness Conference, told her incredible story – and It’s really a miracle, an anthem of life and perseverance. Touching that is priceless!” —Olga Podolska, Facebook Post (8/2/17)

“Wonderful and very satisfying workshop on Art Can Heal Your Life. Thank you for offering lots of great information.” —M.S.

“I loved the workshop and would wholeheartedly recommend it to others.” —L.M.

“Thank you for your personal and personable presentation and interactive workshop, we truly enjoyed participating.” —N.M.

“Your workshop on Art Can Heal Your Life was exceptional! I am thrilled to know Carol Rosenberger’s story, in the sense of hope and transcendence, and I loved hearing her music.” —C.A.

“Dr. Colvin’s workshop series was masterful in illustrating the many connections between a healthy personality and a successful career as an artist. She approaches the material from the advantage of being an artist and a psychologist herself, and knows deeply what it takes to achieve as a creative person. She provided very useful tools and strategies to guide me in my development as a healthy artist, and I am so thankful for all her help.” –M.C.

“Thank you so much for your wonderful presentation on helping the performance artist work through anxiety. Your knowledge, insight and clarity in expressing your experience with artists were deeply appreciated by the members of our audience. We received many accolades about how beautifully you expressed yourself and how enjoyable your presentation was.” —Barry M. Panter, MD, Director, Creativity & Madness Conference

“ Dr. Colvin is a gracious, thoughtful and insightful psychologist, who participated in our Dancer’s Health Day, offering preventive health screenings, counseling and workshops. We were stunned by, and grateful for, how well-received she was by the dance community, and appreciate her talent for contextualizing the hard to address topics among dancers and choreographers. Dr. Colvin is most accessible to the artists with whom she works, leading them towards healthier lifestyles as professionals. Her strong knowledge base and experience as both an artist and psychologist, strengthens her empathic relationships and makes for valuable connections around vulnerable subjects. Her participation was outstanding and we look forward to continuing our work with her.” —Alexandra Matthews, Director of Programming, Dance Resource Center

“Congratulations to Dr. Kathline Colvin’s engaging Santa Fe (Creativity & Madness) conference presentation “Mindfulness: Healthy Approaches in the Training of Performing Artists”, in which she pointed out that artists are highly-sensitive people who may be easily over-stimulated and overwhelmed. Self-soothing techniques for coping with over-arousal help the performer reach harmonious success, as Colvin pointed out in the words of Stephen Sondheim “to get the thing that makes it worth the journeying”. —Creativity & Madness Conference Facebook Post

“My attitude and feelings have been completely reset. The workshop was a special gift…. I feel my core creativity has been reignited, and I know that I can face any challenge with trust and optimism. Thank you Dr. Colvin for helping me to again align with my dream.” –G.J.